Wire stretcher



May 10, 1949.

E. e. GEISENDORFF WIRE STRETGHER Filed June 24, 1947' I1'VVENTOR. f fame/M 0109 Patented May 10, 1949 unifies OLEFIZC'E LWIREJSTRETCHER 1 Ernest; 'Gs'Geisendorih kellville; Tex.

.Applicationdune v24, 1947,. SerialrNot 756,745

3 'Glaims.

.1 "This invention relates to improvements in wire stretchers and more particularly' to a wire gripping device which will -iirrrilygrip a wirestrand ..and may {be H pulled toward a post or other anchorage tQ-Stret'ch the wire.

It is among'the objects of .the invention to provide an -improved wire gripping device of simplified construction to which a .wire strand can be easily securedand which will automatically grip-the wire witha force proportional tothe pull on the wire "during thestret'ching operation, which. device will not the wireor .,produce sharp bends which mightweaken .or .crack the wire, which will not scratchor breakithe. galvanizing .coating- .Orother Zfini'shbf the .wire,. which willggrip'barbeid, .twistedorsmooth Wire with .equal facility,'.arid-.which is. economical to manufacture, durable .inuse and. easy.to.operate.

Other objects. and advantages will become .apparent from the-consideration .of the following description. in. cnjunction-.-with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is atop plan-view-ofa-wire gripping device illustrative of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation'of the wire gripping device illustrated in Figure 1.

With continued referencer to'thetdrawing, the wire gripping device comprises a frame, generally indicated at I0, made upof a. pairof longitudinal, angle-- iron leg members "I I and f I'ZJsubstantially parallel to each othenand spacedapart to-provide between-them -a"central opening'I3. The leg members II and I2 are connected together at corresponding ends by a transverse end member I4 of angle cross-section which is welded or otherwise permanently secured at its ends to the corresponding ends of the leg members II and I2. The leg members I! and I2 are secured to the member I 4 in a manner such that upstanding flanges I5 of the two leg members are disposed one at each side of the central opening I3 and extend outwardly from the frame in the same direction. These flanges are gradually tapered or uniformly reduced in width in a direction away from the transverse end member I4, as is clearly shown in Figure 2, to facilitate the insertion of a wire through the central opening I3 between the leg members of the frame.

A U-shaped eye or pull loop I 6 is secured to the end of the frame opposite the end member I4 by having its end portions welded or otherwise permanently secured respectively, to the end portions of the legs II and I2 of the frame.

A rectangular abutment block I1, preferably formed of hard Wood, is secured within the angle of the and member. i by suitable. fastening means such as the. bolts. or. screws t5, the. outwardly extending flange It oflthe end memberoverlying the side .oflthe block I Ilat'jthe extremeend of the frame.

An-harm 128. of .angle. CI'OSSfSeCtiQn. has one. side superimposed/upon the. side of the'leg' II which is: attachedto the. endmember I l and is. pivotally connected to' the' frameat one end .bya suitable pivotal connection such as the corresponding bolt I8 which secures the abutment block to the frame. The .free. end of .the armiil ..is..movable about the pivotal connection IBtOWardiand away. from the leg. I. I ..and-..the.arm.has itsother side extending .past..the .outer...edge .of the leg I I. in .a .direction opposite..jthe-.direction..in .which. they leg. flanges or sides 45. extend. "This. othenordepending side 2| .of [the .arm .is .provided with an elongated, longitudinalslotifl and/a roller shaft'23 extends Ithrough-thisIslot sothat oneend portionthereof extends Itransversely-across the. frame I It] when theiarm 26 .is .in. the closed position illustrated imEigure-Lvwhile theopposite end portion .of the shaft ..ex.tends.;out\vardly. from the arm. 29 toprovideahandle.

rollerl24 is -journaled on theen'd portion of the,shaft.'.23 which extendstransversely of the framelj I'Elian'dis. secured against movement lengthwisenof the. shaft by suitable abutment washers 25..surro.unding. thesha'ft 23 one ateach-end of thetr'o'llenM. vTIhe abutment washer .at the .end of the shaft may beheld in place by a head 26 formed on the end of the shaft and the washer intermediate the shaft length may be secured in place by a pin 21 extending through a transverse aperture in the shaft 23. The roller 24 is provided with a flat side 28 which operatively engages the adjacent surfaces of the frame legs II and I2 to resist rotation of the roller upon the shaft 23- When a wire is gripped in the wire stretcher.

In operation, the arm 20 is first swung outwardly so that the roller 24 is moved to a position in which it is entirely clear of the central opening I3 of the frame I0. A wire strand 30 is then laid in the central opening and forced downwardly between the flanges or sides I5 of the frame legs and the arm 20 is then closed with the leg I I bringing the roller between the frame legs and the wire strand and to a position in which it extends transversely across the frame, as illustrated in Figure 1. The wire is then bent around the roller to provide a roller-engaging loop and a pull is applied to the pull-loop I6. The roller will be then moved longitudinally of the frame legs compressing one side of the wire loop between itself and the abutment block 11. During this movement of the roller it will be rotated until the flat side 28 comes into engagement with the adjacent surface of the frame legs whereupon further rotation of the roller will be resisted and the roller will be bodily moved toward the abutment block. As a pull is placed on the pull-loop N5 the roller 24 will be forced toward the abutment block compressing the wire strand loop with a force proportional to the force of the pull on the pull-loop. When the wire has been properly stretched it may be released from the stretcher by bending the wire to release the loop surrounding the roller 24, moving the free end of the arm 26 away from the associated frame leg to withdraw the roller from the loop and then removing the frame from the wire lying in the central frame opening.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire stretcher comprising a frame having a pair of substantially parallel, spaced apart, angle iron legs arranged with upstanding flanges at opposite sides of the intervening space, an angle iron end member secured transversely to said legs at corresponding ends thereof with one side of said end member directed away from said legs, said upstanding sides of said legs decreasing uniformly in width in a direction away from said transverse end member to facilitate the insertion of wire into said stretcher, a pull loop connecting the ends of said legs opposite said transverse end member, a hard wood abutment block secured in the angle of said transverse end member, an arm of angle shaped cross-section pivotally connected at one end to one of said frame legs adjacent said end member and having a longitudinally slotted side extending past said one frame leg to the side thereof opposite the corresponding upstanding sides of said legs, a roller shaft extending through said slotted side of said arm, and a roller on the end of said shaft extending across said frame legs to receive a loop of wire brought over said end member between said legs, and grip said wire between itself and said abutment block, said roller having a flattened side engageable with the adjacent surfaces of said legs to resist rotation of said roller and thereby facilitate gripping of said wire between said roller and said block.

2. A wire stretcher, comprising a narrow, elongated, U-shaped frame, having a pair of substantially spaced apart legs, a pull loop connected to the legs of said frame at the open end of said frame, an abutment block secured to said frame at the closed end thereof, an arm pivotally secured at one end to the closed end of said frame for movement of its free end toward and away from one edge of said frame and having a longitudinally slotted portion extending along said one edge of said frame, a roller shaft extending through said slotted arm side and having one end portion adapted to be positioned transversely of said frame, and a roller on said one end portion of said shaft operative to receive a loop of wire brought between said frame legs and grip said wire between itself and said abutment block.

3. A wire stretcher, comprising a rectangular frame having a central wire receiving opening closed at one end and a pull loop at the opposite end, an abutment block secured to said frame at the closed end of said opening, an arm pivotally connected at one end to said one end of said frame and having a longitudinally slotted side, a roller shaft extending through said slotted arm side and having one end portion adapted to be positioned transversely of said frame, and a roller on said one end portion of said shaft cooperating with said abutment block to grip a wire between itself and said block so that the wire may be stretched by a pull on said pull loop.

ERNEST G. GEISENDORFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 453,830 Daophinais June 9, 1891 939,099 Scheurer et a1. Nov. 2, 1909 948,709 Sprinkle Feb. 8, 1910 

